Field Trip
by Pansychic27213
Summary: Danny's class goes to the zoo for a field trip. And of course, everything has to go wrong. Includes: little!Danny! :)


**A/N: I really like the idea of Vlad being like a second father to young!Danny. I've read a couple stories about Vlad forming a secret relationship with a really young Danny, so I thought I'd write my own...**

**Field Trip**

Dear readers, when one is designing the layout of a zoo, one must be careful to not create any small spaces or dead ends, for in the case of escaped animals- which are common- visitors to the zoo will not be too grateful to find themselves at the end of an empty alleyway with a loose lion. Sadly, such was the case of Amity Park, for the architect of the Amity Zoo had mistakenly created a closet-like space near one of the gates. Also, rather sadly, the manager of the establishment believed he could solve the problem by adding a gate to the space, and making it into a janitorial area. Life continued, tickets were sold, and everyone all but forgot the miserable experience of one Danny Fenton.

It was still a very sunny day, despite the partly cloudy bit of it. Amity's Sunshine Elementary School had already dove head first into their first grade, class field trip at the zoo. People milled about, buying snacks and souvenirs, pointing out interesting animals, and taking selfies with their favorite creatures (the most common result being the flamingos).

The first grade class had already visited the birds, the reptile house (where Tucker had to be removed because of his fears of snakes), and the more docile animals from Australia and Africa. Now the six and seven year olds were moving on to see the big cats.

They moved slowly through the park. Every second, their teacher- a rather slim, handsome man by the name of - tried to further the learning experience with 'interesting' facts and famous examples of animals in literature (one example being the horse in War Horse, though that might not have been for the best because many students had questions about war shortly after). Also, at least one student had to use the restroom every five minutes or less, which is common in children who had nothing better to do.

"I'm so bored," Tucker drawled, discreetly pulling out his DS to play with his virtual dog. Sam would have none of that as she snatched it away.

"Tucker! These animals are so cool!" She argued.

"So? That doesn't make me less bored!" The boy huffed and adjusted his glasses.

"I don't think the animals are boring, Sa-" Danny tried to offer, only to be roughly pushed to the ground by none other than Dash Baxter, big time bully of the first degree (and grade).

"Of course you would side with a girl. You're so lame, Fentina!" The blue-eyed child hissed. Danny just glared.

"Leave Danny alone!" Sam shouted and moved to help her friend up.

"What, Fentoenail? Need a girl to protect you?" The blonde bully taunted.

"Sam isn't just a girl; she's my friend!" Danny growled and started to stand on his own.

"Sam isn't a girl! She's my friend!" Dash mocked in his best 'baby' voice. "You're so weird!" He pushed the smaller boy to the ground again.

"H-hey!" Tucker finally piped up. "D-don't think I won't tell !"

"Tell him what?" The taller boy demanded in a low voice. Tucker took a small step away.

"T-t-that y-you're b-b-bully-lying Danny!" Tucker stuttered out.

"And that you pushed him and called him mean names!" Sam nodded in agreement.

"Who? Me?" Dash smirked. "Who's to tell him I didn't do nothing and Fentoad started it?" The trio gasped.

Danny pulled himself to his feet and angrily declared, "Guys, it's not worth it. He's just going to get us in trouble again for something we didn't do. It's fine; you guys go on ahead. I'll deal with Dash."

"But Danny-" Sam argued quietly, tugging nervously at the hem of her pink dress.

"Go," Her blue-eyed friend replied. Tucker and Sam slouched in defeat and hurried to catch up with the rest of the class.

"So you'll deal with me, huh? What're you gonna do? Cry at me?" Dash goaded.

"I wasn't going to do anything," Danny shrugged. The light-haired bully frowned.

"Then why'd you make them leave?" He retaliated.

"Because," the dark-haired boy answered. "I didn't really have a reason. I can't beat you up back, and you're far too dumb to talk to. So we're going to stand here probably." It took Dash a moment, but he soon understood the hidden insult in the statement.

"I'm not dumb!" He protested. A small rustle came from the bushes behind Danny.

"Okay," the small boy smiled quietly.

"I'm not dumb!" Dash reiterated.

"I'll take your word for it," Danny kept smiling up at the bully, who roughly shoved him down again.

"I said I'M NOT DUMB!" The angered boy became a beast as he repeatedly kicked Danny and pulled his hair. But the youngest Fenton remained quiet. He didn't cry and he didn't shout. He just sat there and took it, doing his best to cover his head and protect his chest from assault.

"I'll show you DUMB!" Dash roared and grabbed Danny by his ankle, starting to drag him away.

"It's a bit late for that!" Danny huffed. Again, Dash was given a moment to recognize the meaning of those words. The bushes nearby moved a bit.

"I SAID I'M NOT DUMB!" With that, Dash forced open the gate to the zoo's janitor closet and threw Danny in, slamming the gate shut and locking it behind him.

"Dash?" The little boy questioned with wide eyes. He was on his hands and knees now, feeling too weak to properly stand up.

"Have fun, Fentina," Dash snarled, and he was gone. Danny stared it disbelief at the gate for a while.

"H-he'll come back. He d-didn't leave you alone. Y-you're safe here anyway," He told himself, his voice shaking. His tiny body trembled with restrained emotions, the most prominent of which being fear.

The midnight haired boy scooted closer to the wall and sat silently, pondering what to do. Finally, he decided to settle in for the night. This space was, after all, filled with brooms and mops. Someone was going to need cleaning supplies soon. All he had to do was wait.

And wait...

And wait...

And soon had quickly become later if the setting sun had anything to do with anything. Danny frowned as he awakened from his little nap. It was getting dark outside, he observed. Had he missed the janitor? He wasn't that small! He stood, ignoring his scraped knees, and walked closer to the gate. Here, he noticed the distinct lack of people and noise. The park was closed. He was alone.

Danny's heart plummeted in terror. He was alone. No one was even here! Where did they think he had gone?! Did they think he was at home? Did anyone even notice he was gone?

The boy's breathing quickened, and he gripped his heart for support, suddenly feeling faint. Why wasn't anyone here? Wasn't anyone looking for him? Was he really so unimportant?

From above, the red-eyed specter watched as the child began to sniffle softly, the first signs of crying. The ghost had been present all day, observing the tiniest Fenton. He had been meaning to steal the boy from that oaf Jack for some time now- six years, to be exact. Ever since he had received that little blue card, announcing the birth... That was unimportant.

The blue-skinned man had been plotting this for years. All he needed was for the child to be away from his parents and alone. When he first caught wind of this field trip, he had been delighted. He had watched carefully all day, ready to make his move at any time.

Then that beastly little boy had locked Daniel in the janitor's closet. Honestly, the man had been holding in snickers from how well his target had handled the bully. His hiding place in the bush could have been discovered, although he could have just turned invisible.

The black-haired ghost could have taken the child then, when he fell asleep behind the mop bucket and the zoo closed without his knowing. He could have scooped the boy up in his arms and flown away, never to be seen again, but something told him to wait.

As the sun had just finished setting, darkness fell over the zoo. Danny had never actually started crying. A few panicked sniffles and some deep breaths later, he had calmed down enough to try and come up with a plan.

First order of business, he needed to get out of the closet. The short boy moved to the back of the closet to search. A key would be unlikely to find, but maybe there was a ladder or step-stool that he could use to climb out.

Suddenly, a loud ruckus drew the attention of the two people left in the zoo. The man tensed, feeling a wave of heat pass through him. The little boy just frowned. Was someone trying to break into the zoo?

"Hello, my fellow captured creatures!" A cheery voice called, well, cheerfully. "Be free! Be FREE! BE FREE!" A green man drifted through the zoo with long strands of green hair flowing behind him. Flowers were woven into his hair and clothing, and his sandals and peace signs glowed bright with green energy.

As he floated along, he pointed to every caged animal he saw, instantly making the body go limp. Soon after he passed, a green light would shine out of the animals and their spirits would exit their bodies.

"BE FREE!" He cried. "BE FREE!"

The red-eyed man and the blue-eyed boy watched in shock as the ghost released all of the animals. "WE ONLY HAVE UNTIL SUNRISE, MY FRIENDS! BE-" The green man stared in surprise at the trapped boy. "Human," he whispered. "You're human." He cackled wildly, making Danny squeak in fright. "You're human!" The laughter had turned into a snarl. "Humans trap animals! Why would you capture them?! They were free!" The boy backed away until his back was pressed again the far wall of the space.

"Help," he called weakly. His little legs quivered the more he stared at the ghost, threatening to give way beneath him.

"It's cruel what you do to them! LET THEM BE FREE!" The ghost demanded. His hair raised around him, practically lashing out at the boy on it's own.

"H-help," Danny whimpered softly. Shouldn't his mom and dad be here? Didn't they hunt ghosts? He was sure it was a ghost. So why weren't they here? They were always, always out investigating one ghostly thing of another. So why weren't they here now, when they were actually needed?

A green tiger emerged from the growing crowd of animals. The green man stared at it for a long while before a twisted smirk curled his lips. "Kill the human." The tiger seemed to smirk in agreement as it lunged at the gate.

"No!" Vlad shouted, breaking free from his trance. He surged forward, preparing to defend the boy. He didn't know why, but he needed to. He couldn't watch this boy, who was already so much like himself, be killed when he could stop it!

Danny cried out terror as his knees buckled beneath him. One moment, he was cold and staring into the face of a hungry tiger as he jumped straight for him, and in that next moment, a strong pair of arms had surrounded him and they were through the back wall of the closet, safe in another part of the zoo.

Danny clamped his eyes shut and gripped the shirt of whoever was holding him. He could feel the wind rushing past them, and somehow, he knew they were flying, but he didn't care. This person smelled nice, like the fancy perfume his dad sometimes wore for mommy. They were very strong, and their arms held him tightly, starting to crush him ever so slightly. So not really slightly, he was starting to become unable to breath.

But he didn't care about any of that. They were holding him tightly because they were afraid. He could feel it in their rapidly beating heart and labored breathing. But whoever had saved him wasn't scared for themselves, because they were probably safe before they helped him. So that only left a few people, and he doubted they were afraid for that green ghost man.

"Daniel?" The fanged man questioned as softly as possible. "Are you alright? Did it hurt you?" All he received was a soft cough. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to strangle you."

Danny laughed quietly and decided to open his eyes. Big mistake. Piercing, pupil-less red eyes. Sharp, ivory fangs. Icy, blue skin. Spiked, ebony hair that looked like horns.

Danny's eyes widened in fear, and he quickly let go, trying to escape the monster. He cried out softly as he started to sob. Why was everyone and every THING after him today? Why HIM?

"Daniel?" Vlad asked in surprise at the sudden outburst. He glanced down at the weeping child before understanding replaced his confusion. "Little one, I'm not going to hurt you. Why would I save you, only to turn around and do something bad, hmm?"

"H-how do you k-know my name?" Danny inquired anxiously, still crying and still shaking.

"I don't have a very nice answer for that," Vlad replied honestly. Oddly enough, this seemed to calm Danny down some more. He rubbed his eyes quietly before gripping Vlad's tunic again.

"W-why did the ghost man attack me?" He requested.

"How did you know he was a- Oh, Maddie, brilliant girl!" Vlad beamed. "Some ghosts just don't like humans at all. They practically live off of their obsession, and that one seemed to like freeing animals."

"Geez, genius, I never would have guessed," Danny snorted. "BE FREE!" He mocked. Vlad just chuckled.

"You're a very interesting little badger," he commented. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Badger? What's a badger?" Vlad just sighed.

"I'm going to have a lot to teach you. Here you go, back home." He drifted downwards into the Fenton house and placed Danny on his bed.

"Teach me?" Danny asked excitedly. "So I get to see you again?!"

"Shhhh! Shhhh!" Vlad chuckled. "Yes, my boy. We will meet again. Now get some sleep."

"When? When?" Danny continued.

"Tomorrow night. And remember, don't tell a soul!" Vlad ordered.

"Right!" The boy grinned. "We're going to be friends! Cool!" Vlad just smiled and covered the boy with his rocket ship blanket.

"Good night, Daniel."

"I don't know your name-" Danny yawned.

"Call me Vlad."

"Okay," and the boy was off to sleep.

-{[(•)]}-

The next day...

"SAM! TUCKER! GUESS WHO I MET!"

**THE END**

**A/N: Was it cute? Was it stupid? Was everyone too out of character? Did you hate little!Dash as much as I did? Review! No, seriously. Review. No one reviews my stuff, and I want to hear from you guys what you think...**


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